Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielburg

In the movie, “Saving Private Ryan,” by Steven Spielburg, it begins with a veteran of WWII returning to Normandy to visit the burial ground for those Allied servicemen who were killed on D-Day. He is looking for a particular grave, and when he finds it, he takes a knee and starts sobbing. Captain John H. Miller has a flashback to June 6, 1944 in Omaha Beach, Normandy, France.

Captain Miller and his squad of eight World War II soldiers are assigned the seemingly impossible combat mission to locate and return one American soldier, Private James Francis Ryan, all of whose brothers have already been killed in action. He is trapped somewhere behind enemy lines. In order the save the family name and relieve an already grieving mother, Captain Miller is instructed to find Private Ryan and bring him home.

After the United States captures the beachhead and settles down, Captain Miller and his seven soldiers begin their mission. The dilemma is Private Ryan, in the 101st airborne, was miss his drop zone away from the original plan. Command thinks he is in a nearby town swarming with German soldiers. Miller’s squad goes through towns, forests, and enemy occupied areas searching for Private Ryan. Sadly, two out of the eight men are killed during the search diminishing the morale. The captain mentally suffers from the burden of losing his men. When they finally locate Ryan, he is defending one of the most strategic towns in the beginning of the war. The town has one of the only 2 bridges across the river that will collect the Allies to the Eastern front. Private Ryan does not want to leave his men guarding the bridge because he feels that it is unfair to leave his fellow soldiers. So Captain Miller and the squad decide to make a last stand ...

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...rian thought, although if it was looked upon as Sgt. Miller did it the movie, the thought could also defend it. It could be argued that the number of men lost during battle was to save 10 or 20 times as many. In war, our armed forces also defend Deontology because it is a foundational duty and character is displayed through actions. The morality of our actions is based upon whether that action itself is right or wrong, rather than centered on the consequences of the actions. The movie carries the thought that American should lead morally standing, socially respectable lives to earn the freedom that our soldiers in battle have paid for with their lives. Hence the veteran at the gravesite in the beginning of the movie is Private James Ryan. He speaks to the grave of Captain John Miller saying he has fervently tried to “earn” his rescue by the captain and his men.